Case Number 14355

THE PERFECT STORM (BLU-RAY)

The Charge

No one was prepared for this storm.

Opening Statement

"I always find the fish. Always!"

Facts of the Case

Captain Billy Tyne (George Clooney, O Brother, Where Art Thou?) has
been the captain of a fishing boat for years. He's had a lot of good days, but
lately he's been on a cold streak. The fish just aren't biting the way they used
to. Billy's boss (Michael Ironside, Starship Troopers) doesn't want to
find another captain, but he tells Billy that he needs to see some results soon.
Determined to prove his worth, Billy pulls his crew together and heads out on
another fishing trip. This time, he's going to go a little bit further than he
usually does. He knows it will be a little risky, but he also knows he can get
the fish out there. What he doesn't know is that he's going to run into a
terrifying storm of epic proportions.

The Evidence

Wolfgang Petersen's The Perfect Storm is based on the nonfiction book
of the same name by Sebastian Junger. It begins by telling the story of a boat
captain and a few fishermen heading out to sea, and then it turns into a
special-effects extravaganza that is simply too big for little things like
characterization to fit into. Normally, I would not be pleased about this.
However, The Perfect Storm proves to be one of the most
impressively-staged special effects extravaganzas of the past decade, offering
perhaps the most effective portrait of a storm ever committed to film.

I have always been a little less than enthusiastic about scenes that depict
ships battling storms at sea. In so many movies (something like Hawaii
comes to mind), these scenes are noisy, chaotic, dark, and incoherent. You know
that there's a struggle going on, but it's all just a bit too indecipherable.
That is not the case here. Petersen stages this storm with simultaneous clarity
and chaos. It captures the sensation of struggling for your life against a huge
storm, and for a full hour gives an intense battle between a little fishing boat
and the raging sea (along with an equally exciting subplot about a Coast Guard
rescue team attempting to save the passengers of an even smaller boat). The
results are frankly pretty gripping; even moreso when you watch it in
hi-def.

I watched this film with some small degree of sadness, because it does
represent the start of a certain decline for Petersen. Petersen's previous films
had an emphasis on character, and they also included some well-staged action
scenes. This one dispenses with character development in favor of even more
action. It works in The Perfect Storm, but the same approach would turn
Petersen's subsequent films (Troy and Poseidon) into painful
viewing experiences. Maybe it's better for all of us if we think of The
Perfect Storm as the end of a hot streak rather than the start of a bad
run.

As I hinted earlier, the movie looks simply spectacular in Blu-ray. The
second hour of the film is a tremendous cinematic achievement, and this disc
gives the viewer a good indication of just how impressively Petersen pulled this
off. We know the whole thing is nothing more than special effects, but it looks
so convincing. I was truly pulled into the experience visually. The transfer is
clean and solid, and a bit sharper-looking overall than a number of other films
I've seen in hi-def from seven or eight years ago. Sound is terrific, too. James
Horner's fine score gets a very strong mix early on, and then is later nearly
drowned out (no pun intended) by the booming sounds of thunder and crashing
waves. Supplements are ported over from the previous DVD release: three
commentaries, three featurettes, all worth a look.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

The Perfect Storm may work its way up to something spectacular, but it
takes a while to get going. The early scenes of the guys hanging out in
Massachusetts seem a little forced and unconvincing. We hear lots of hokey
Gloucester accents and Bruce Springsteen songs. We see George Clooney walking
around wearing a checkered flannel shirt and a John Deere cap. It looks like
Gloucester, it sounds like Gloucester, but it sure feels like Hollywood
pretending to be Gloucester.

The actors are all fine, especially Clooney, but their characters are pretty
one-dimensional. Each is handed an external issue or problem that defines them,
and that's it. Clooney is upset because he hasn't caught any fish. Mark Wahlberg
(I Heart Huckabees) plays a guy who loves fishing, but also loves a woman
(Diane Lane, Untraceable). John C. Reilly (Magnolia) has a son
back home that he misses. He also fights a lot with a guy played by William
Fichtner (who is sleeping with Reilly's ex-wife). Then there's a couple of guys
played by John Hawkes and Allen Payne who just sort of hang around. The women
have even less to do. Such talented actresses as Lane, Mary Elizabeth
Mastrantonio, Karen Allen, and Cherry Jones have little to nothing to chew on
here. This is a strong cast, but the characters they play could have been played
by almost anyone.

Finally, a really random shark attack (!) is just unintentionally funny. It
should have been snipped.

Closing Statement

I suppose it's a testament to Wolfgang Petersen's skills as an action
director that The Perfect Storm is a spine-tingling viewing experience
despite the fact that it features a less-than-stellar screenplay and thin
characters. If you're going to watch this movie, hi-def is far and away the best
way to go. Recommended.